Haryana paves way for WBCIS scheme

Finally paving the way for the Weather-Based Crop Insurance Scheme (WBCIS), the Haryana government has announced its implementation on pilot basis in three blocks of the state.

According to Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, WBCIS for wheat crop has been implemented on pilot basis in the three blocks of Ambala-II in Ambala district, Babain in Kurukshetra district and Tohana in Fatehabad district.

The state government notified the scheme on March 11, even as the risk period for the scheme started from March 7 for Ambala-II block and March 10 for Babain and Tohana, indicating that only loanee farmers could be covered under the scheme.

The main objectives of the scheme is to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of crop as a result of unfavourable weather conditions like excess rainfall and high temperature, encourage farmers to adopt progressive farming practices and high value in-puts in agriculture and compensate the farmers for their extra inputs / costs applied at their level for getting good yield.

The CM said the scheme would cover only wheat crop as it had not been brought under the umbrella of any crop insurance programme so far in the state. .

Under the WBCIS, sum insured would be Rs 15,000 per acre and actuarial rate of premium would be 7 per cent plus service tax at the rate of 10.3 per cent. Of total premium amounting to Rs 1,158 per acre, the farmers would be required to pay the premium amounting to Rs 248 per acre whereas rest of the premium amount would be shared by central and state governments on 50:50 basis.

The scheme would be implemented by Agricultural Insurance Company of India Ltd (AIC) in Babain and Tohana blocks and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company in Ambala-II block.